Adjustable Glove for Eletronic Devices

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an adjustable glove that enables the user&#39;s thumb and other fingers to interact and communicate with electronic devices while wearing the glove. The inventive glove has a thumb and finger pouch portion made of a thin, tactile material, and a body portion made up of thicker insulated material which covers the balance of the user&#39;s hand. The pouch forms a skin tight fit on the thumb and fingers through an adjustable band connected to the pouch and removably attachable to non-pouch portions of the glove, such as in the vicinity of the basilar joint for the pouch covering the thumb.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims and is entitled to the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/040134 filed on Mar. 27, 2008.

The invention relates to an adjustable glove that enables the user's fingers to interact and communicate with electronic devices while wearing the glove.

Electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, MP3 players, and other similar devices are controlled or used by user input. Such input is typically via a user's fingers, often the user's thumb, and provides communication/interaction with the devices. Such devices are ubiquitous and are used in many situations, including when a user is outside and subject to the elements, including cold, rain, and snow.

Many users will appreciate that it is difficult to use such devices while wearing a glove because glove fabric typically has a slippery surface as compared to bare skin. As such, glove-wearing users may encounter difficulty when trying to type, press buttons, turn scroll wheels, move joysticks, location cursors, track balls, or other input component of an electronic device.

In addition, the design of standard outdoor gloves is such that the material located at the tip of the thumb which users use to communicate with these devices is simply too thick to accurately type in communications and otherwise accurately operate to the screens, keys, buttons, and levers present on these devices, which are essential to using these devices effectively.

Glove construction for the protection of the human hand is well known. The prior art reflects numerous gloves that are designed to cover a user's hand while enhancing the grip of the user. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,248 discloses a grip enhancing glove for use in the sport of bowling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a glove design that allows a user to interact and communicate with electronic devices while wearing the glove. Embodiments of the invention are configured to protect the thumb and other fingers from external elements, e.g., cold, rain, snow, while maintaining the user's ability to interact with the devices.

One embodiment of the invention comprises a glove that has an adjustable portion for a thumb. It is understood that the inventions described herein, e.g., the adjustable portion for the thumb, may be equally applied to any finger. The main section of the glove may be constructed of any suitable material, e.g., leather, cowhide, goat kid, elk hide, fabrics, synthetic fabrics, and knit materials. The adjustable pouch covering the thumb and other fingers may be constructed of any of a wide variety of materials having certain characteristics, such as a medium friction coefficient, thinness, flexibility, electrical conductivity, comfort, and price, including an ultra thin cabretta leather. Such materials allow for the thumb to accurately communicate with the screens, keys, buttons, levers and other input components of electronic devices. The cabretta leather may also protect the thumb from skin irritation that can arise at the thumb's point of contact with the electronic device during its interactions with the device.

The adjustable portion is provided so that the leather or other material is substantially skin tight against the thumb. The tightness of the fit is critical because the tighter the fit can improve the tactile and functional feel of the portion on the thumb on the device and improve accuracy in typing or other input/communication by the user on the device, by, in part minimizing bunching of the material over the thumb that could lessen, e.g., typing accuracy. In some embodiments, the adjustable portion is provided using a removably attachable band connecting the thumb portion to the glove. Such removably attachable band may be provided using, for example, Velcro. The removably attachable band may be connected to the main glove section near the wrist, such as in the vicinity of the user's basilar joint for the thumb pouch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front of one embodiment of the glove, including an embodiment of the thin tactile pouch.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the back of one embodiment of the glove.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the glove wherein the pouch is present on the user's thumb 7. The adjustable pouch covering the thumb 7 and other fingers may be constructed of any of a wide variety of materials having certain characteristics, such as a medium friction coefficient, thinness, flexibility, electrical conductivity, comfort, and price including, but not limited, to an ultra thin cabretta leather.

FIG. 1 reflects one embodiment of the system connecting the pouch 7 to the body of the glove 2 through an adjustable strap 5 which connects to the main body of the glove at 4. The point of connection between the strap and the main body at 4 is adjustable, allowing the user to customize a skin tight fit of the pouch to their fingers in order to maintain for accurate communications between the user's finger and electronic devices, while protecting the fingers and hand from the outside elements. The tightness of the fit is critical because a tighter the fit can improve the tactile and functional feel of the portion on the thumb on the device and improve accuracy in typing or other input/communication by the user on the device, by, in part minimizing bunching of the material over the thumb that could lessen typing accuracy.

In one embodiment, the adjustable strap exits the main part of the glove at the base of the thumb 3. In addition to being connected via the strap, the part of the pouch may be connected to the main part of the glove by stitching or other sewing 1.

FIG. 2 displays one embodiment of the back of the glove. The main section of the glove 14 may be constructed of any suitable material including but not limited to leather, cowhide, goat kid, elk hide, fabrics, synthetic fabrics, and knit materials.

In some embodiments, the adjustable portion is provided using a removably attachable band 5 connecting the thumb portion to the glove (FIG. 1). Such removably attachable band may be provided using Velcro by way of example 4. The removably attachable band may be connected to the main glove section near the wrist, such as in the vicinity of the user's basilar joint for the thumb pouch 5.

In one embodiment, excess material from the main glove at the base of the finger pouch 13 may extend to cover the tip of the finger.

The foregoing disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure.

Further, in describing representative embodiments of the present invention, the specification may have presented the method and/or process of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps may be possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth in the specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims. In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of the present invention should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention 

1. A glove for use of electrical devices comprising an adjustable pouch on the thumb and fingertips which projects through an opening on the thumb and fingers of the remaining portion of the glove.
 2. A glove according to claim 1, in which the adjustable pouch is present on one or more digits.
 3. A glove according to claim 1, in which the attachment means are releasable.
 4. A glove according to claim 1 in which the attachment means comprise one or more straps per digit.
 5. A glove according to claim 1, in which the attachment means comprises Velcro.
 6. A method for using a glove comprising: a skin tight pouch on the thumb and other fingers adjustable using an adjustable strap.
 7. A glove according to claim 1, wherein the thicker non-pouch portion of the glove comprises insulation material.
 8. A glove according to claim 1, wherein the thumb and finger pouches contain at least a portion of electrically conductive material.
 9. A glove according to claim 1, wherein the opening through which the thumb and finger pouches protrude is located on a finger portion of the glove.
 10. A glove according to claim 1, wherein the strap attached to the thumb pouch exits the main portion of the glove in the vicinity of the base of the thumb and connects to the main portion of glove in the vicinity of the basilar joint.
 11. A glove according to claim 1, wherein the excess material from the main part of the glove at the base of the finger pouch may cover the tip of the finger. 